For Kit Harington, the Game of Thrones story is all about family.
The actor, 31, shared at the 2018 Emmy Awards how the hit fantasy series has changed his life — in no small part because he met his wife, Rose Leslie, on set. Their characters, Harington as Jon Snow and Leslie, 31, as Ygritte, were also love interests.
“It gave me my future family and my life from here on in,” Harington told reporters in the Emmys press room. “That’s the main thing it did for me, and it’s changed it completely.”
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He continued, “The last 10 years, you could not ask for a better job to have in your 20s, to take you through your 20s than to be an actor in Game of Thrones. It’s been the most amazing thing. It’s changed it completely.”
Emilia Clarke, who also has a leading role in the HBO show, addressed the same question at her costar’s side. “It’s given me my entire career,” she said. “It’s given me my entire life as I know it now. I genuinely owe absolutely everything — it’s changed everything.”
Harington and Leslie first stirred up relationship rumors in 2012. After a brief split, the couple reconciled and continued to fuel romance speculation until they officially confirmed the relationship in April 2016.
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They got engaged in September 2017, confirming the happy news the old-fashioned (and very British) way: through a classified ad in The Times.
Harington previously opened up about the early days of the couple’s romance, revealing that sparks flew while on set in Iceland shooting season 2.
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“Because the country is beautiful, because the Northern Lights are magical, and because it was there that I fell in love,” he said in a cover story for L’Uomo Vogue. “If you’re already attracted to someone, and then they play your love interest in the show, it becomes very easy to fall in love.”
The couple wed on June 23 at the Kirkton of Rayne church. The star-studded celebration included many Thrones stars as guests.
